French Freestyler Thumbs Nose at Laws of Physics

Freestyle trials riding is, in a word, craaaaaaazy. Riding down stairs, up walls, over obstacles…. It’s like dancing on a motorcycle.

French freestyler Julien Dupont is especially adept at urban trials riding, thumbing his nose at the laws of physics in cities around the world. He’s long been “intrigued” by the idea of riding the archetypal favela terrain, and so made tracks for Favela do Vidigal in Rio de Janeiro. Vidigal sits 1,700 feet above sea level, offering steep hills, narrow roads and no end of interesting terrain alongside fantastic views. The government has slowly wrested control of the area from drug gangs, drawing more outsiders into the area.

“Everybody back home told me before I came, ‘You’re going into a favela, are you crazy? You just don’t go in there, it’s too dangerous,'” Dupont said in a statement from Red Bull, his sponsor. “Now am here I can see it’s not dangerous at all. The people are very friendly, there’s a very good vibe. This is an incredible spot for the type of riding I like to do. Everywhere you look there are stairs, walls, roofs, drop-offs and step-up jumps. It’s like a huge playground.”